Dupes or Not: Bobbi Brown Galaxy vs Prescriptives Smoking Gun

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Ahh, discontinued and limited edition products. Aren't they the bane of every makeup fanatic's existence (other than overpriced shipping)? Just when you think you've fallen in love with something, you inevitably find it's been discontinued, or limited edition, or both, and unavailable. And then you have to scour Ebay for it and pay exorbitant prices. I don't know about you, but it happens to me pretty often. Darn Murphy's Law.

So in honour of "Nyah-here's-a-taupe-you-can't-have" day (okay, I just made that up), here's a comparison of two discontinued taupe cream eyeshadows. They pretty much appear to be dupes.

The two taupes in question are Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Shadow in Galaxy, which was a hot favourite when it first came out, and Prescriptives Colorscope Eyeshadow in Smoking Gun, which was discontinued because Prescriptives shut down. And Prescriptives just shut down just as I was getting into its line of concealers and foundations. Murphy's Law, I tell ya.

From my swatches, you can see they're obviously dupes, colour-wise. They both are gorgeous. They have the same steel grey base infused with brown, and then overlaid with dense gold shimmer to form the most beautiful, shade-shifting, duochrome taupe the world ever saw. Oh yes, you know I love this baby.

But other than the colour, the pigmentation is what separates the two. Galaxy is a lot sheerer than Smoking Gun. I did a couple of swipes for each swatch, and you can see that while Smoking Gun is opaque in two swipes or so, Galaxy is still rather wimpy on my skin. I definitely prefer Prescriptives when it comes to pigmentation, although I'm sure some others will prefer Bobbi Brown's more muted version.

In terms of staying power, both are excellent. Neither the Prescriptives nor the Bobbi Brown cream eyeshadows budge. They pretty much stay on the entire day for me, without smudging or fading. Both also have the same texture, although I think Galaxy had a slightly more slippery, emollient feel, probably due to the addition of silicones.

So if you're a discontinued taupe-hunter, and you only want one, which one should you get? I guess since staying power and colour are the same, the only determining factor would be pigmentation level. While I'd personally prefer Smoking Gun, if you're one of those people who prefer sheerer shadows, Galaxy might work better for you.

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